Dog photography

24th March 2014

While working at Crufts for Channel 4’s coverage of the event, I was given a photography lesson by dog photographer Andy Biggar. Andy turned professional after winning places in the Kennel Club’s Dog Photographer of the Year competition two years in a row. His photos are absolutely stunning – you can see some of them on his website.

Andy had half an hour to teach me how to take decent photos of a dog. Our model for my lesson was a lovely Italian Spinone called Jinx. Andy said the best dog photos are those that capture its true personality and character. Here are the tips Andy gave me to try to achieve that:

* Get outside – lighting is rarely great indoors so try to work with natural light in your garden or local park
* Get a friend involved – it’s easier taking photos of your dog if someone else is helping grab the subject’s attention
* Crouch – get eye-to-eye with your dog when taking your pictures
* Be aware of your background – try to avoid shooting in front of ugly objects like bins
* Move around the dog – take photos from all angles
* Think about framing – while you can crop photos after taking them, it is better to think about where you place your dog in the frame while you are taking the photo. Try to keep the dog in the middle of your photo
* Portrait and action - take photos while your dog is standing or sitting still and while he or she is playing
* Use your camera’s burst mode – this takes several photos in quick succession which gives you more chance of capturing a great moment of action
* Snap away – take as many photos as you can because sometimes you have to take dozens of photos to get that one perfect shot.

I think you can use these tips when taking photos of your kids too. Thank you Andy! Here are the best results of my lesson...